An escalation of intensifying tensions. North Korea confirmed on Thursday, August 31, that it fired two short-range ballistic missiles, explaining that it was a “simulated tactical nuclear strike” in response to US-South Korean maneuvers , reported the North Korean state agency KCNA.
These shots come a few hours before the end of the joint military maneuvers between the United States and South Korea, Ulchi Freedom Shield, which still arouse the ire of Pyongyang. The missiles were fired on Wednesday, simulating a tactical nuclear strike aimed at completely destroying major command centers and airbases across the border in South Korea, according to KCNA.
They were launched towards the East Sea, also called the Sea of ??Japan, according to the South Korean and Japanese army. “The first was launched around 11:38 p.m. (4:38 p.m. in Paris), at a maximum altitude of about 50 kilometers and a flight distance of about 350 kilometers. The second around 11:46 p.m., at a maximum altitude of about 50 kilometers and a flight distance of about 400 kilometers, according to the Japanese military.
“The exercise aims to send a clear message to the enemies,” the North Army said, according to KCNA. On Tuesday, Pyongyang had staged command-level military maneuvers in response to those in Washington and Seoul. On this occasion, North Korean leader Kim Jong-un visited a training command post, according to KCNA.
“The purpose of the exercise is to enable all commanders and staff sections of the entire army to fully prepare for war,” the same source reported. South Korea’s Joint Chiefs of Staff said the southern military “maintained full readiness in close cooperation with the United States.”
During the joint aerial maneuvers, at least one US B-1B strategic bomber flew over the Korean peninsula on Wednesday, according to Yonhap, a detail that particularly angered Pyongyang. The North called the overflight a “serious threat” that is “consistent with the scenario of a pre-emptive nuclear attack on the DPRK (Democratic People’s Republic of Korea).”
US National Security Council spokesman John Kirby, speaking at a press briefing in Washington when the announcement was made, declined to comment. On Tuesday, the United States, South Korea and Japan also held a trilateral naval missile defense exercise. The three countries have stepped up their defense cooperation in recent months, in response to growing provocations from Pyongyang.
North Korea has conducted a record number of weapons tests this year and last week made its second attempt to put a spy satellite into orbit, which ended in failure. North Korea’s leader last year called his country’s nuclear power status “irreversible” and called for increased development of armaments, including tactical nuclear weapons.
He also called on Tuesday to bolster North Korea’s navy, saying the country’s waters were fraught with the “danger of nuclear war”, state media reported. “The waters of the Korean Peninsula have been forced to become the concentration point of the world’s most war material and the most unstable waters with the risk of nuclear war,” according to the North Korean leader. “Succeeding in the rapid development of the naval force has become a very urgent matter in view of the enemy’s recent attempts at aggression,” he argued.
